Our opinion: A decision as serious as reform of the state pension system shouldn’t come down to a political popularity contest. Whether the pension system for more than a million current and retired public employees in New York needs reform, and what that reform should be, ought to be a matter of thoughtful debate. Instead, […]
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Our opinion: New York, at last, has a teacher evaluation system. Now we have to see if it actually works. We’re glad to see that New York state and its teachers have finally come to terms on an evaluation system. It would have been better, of course, if the right thing had come without all […]
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Our opinion: Teacher unions continue to fight new evaluations, putting federal money and children’s futures both at risk. If one thing stands out from SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher’s state of the university address, it’s the state of education in New York. There was Ms. Zimpher on Monday, talking of the shocking $70 million SUNY expends […]
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Our opinion: The union leaders strike a deal on a contract with the state. Now it’s ratification, or mass layoffs. There’s hope after all, New York. Even in the contentious days of fiscal hardship, and in the often brutal arena of labor negotiations, reason can prevail. Monday’s recommendation by the leadership of the Public Employees Federation […]
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Our opinion: The outcome of the latest talks between the state and PEF will affect this region’s communities. Negotiators should keep that in mind with all their other considerations. To many New Yorkers, there are just two sides in the dispute over a new contract for the Public Employees Federation — PEF and the state. […]
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Our opinion: The union rejects a difficult contract. How can layoffs be best avoided now? The overriding challenge for state government today is as daunting as it is unnecessary. The Cuomo administration and the Public Employees Federation have to try to find a way to avoid long-threatened layoffs made ever more likely by the union’s rejection […]
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It looks as if Congress will correct its failure to fund the Federal Aviation Administration, for which we took it to task yesterday, calling it a dereliction of duty. But a key issue behind the funding battle remains unresolved: how union organizing elections should work. The dispute centers on a ruling by the National Mediation […]
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Our opinion: Tens of thousands of people are out of work over Republicans’ refusal to fund the Federal Aviation Administration, part of the GOP’s war on unions. This hard-line ideology is irresponsible. Just imagine what would happen if a group of corporate executives took a vacation with so much business unfinished that whole departments in […]
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